This is the 500th episode of Skeptoid. That's a lot of stories; a lot of history and culture and science. We've made many visits to every continent on the globe, and stopped in on every century and every millennium since our species was launched. We've met every kind of person there is, and even gone into space looking for more. Nine years ago there were a hundred of you as my traveling companions on these weekly adventures, and then there were a thousand, and ten thousand, then a hundred thousand. For each of 500 weeks we've found something new to be curious about together.

A lot of the inspiration I've found has come from those who asked the same questions before me. Who can forget the famous:

Truzi's Principle: Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.

or:

Hitchen's Razor: What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.

And whenever I think I know the solution, I try to always remember:

Nickell's Doctrine: The person who thinks he can’t be fooled has just fooled himself.

I realized I'd fooled myself a hundred times, a thousand times. That was when I decided I wanted a really solid general science literacy. Having that exposes a whole new dimension to every story, every claim, every pop-culture fad, every myth. That's how we're able to answer questions like whether cell phones are killing us all, or whether Project Lucifer was ever a viable theory for destroying the planet Jupiter.

Every time I learned about something new, and found an answer I never would have tried before, I felt like the proverbial kid in a candy store. I am often reminded of Marie Curie who famously said:

Curie's Canon: A scientist in her laboratory is not only a technician: she is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress her like a fairy tale.

What makes a rocket ship fly? How far are those lights in the sky? Isn't there some way that I Could go up there too?

Shermer's Essential: Before we say something is out of this world, let’s first make sure that it is not in this world.

Occam's Razor: The explanation with the fewest new assumptions is usually the correct one.

Things I can touch must be real But what about feelings I feel? So many mysteries conceal Secrets I want to know.

Hyman's Categorical Imperative: Do not try to explain something until you are sure there is something to be explained.

Ebert's Axiom: Clear-minded people should remain two things throughout their lifetimes: curious and teachable.

A new idea, a new technique Threaten to turn me into a geek Love the old stories so full of mystique Tempting me to learn.

Feynman's Maxim: There is no harm in doubt and skepticism, for it is through these that new discoveries are made.

Bergson's Fundamental: The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.